For
my figurative analysis I have chosen to focus on Euripides’s Greek tragedy Hecuba, specifically the first agon of
Polyxena’s sacrificial death. Talthybius, herald of Agamemnon, recounts
Polyxena’s death to her faint-hearted mother, Hecuba. Zeroing in on the scene
of sacrifice, patriarchal themes play a much larger role than mere undertones.
Polyxena appears to escape her fate as a
slave in accepting her sacrificial death, yet her death tragically proves she
has always been a slave. While held down by Argive warriors over Achilles’
tomb, Polyxena utters, "O Argives, who have sacked my city! of my free
will I die; let none lay hand on me; for bravely will I yield my neck. Leave me
free, I do beseech; so slay me, that death may find me free; for to be called a
slave amongst the dead fills my royal heart with shame." In so “bravely”
accepting her sacrificial virgin death, she demonstrates the deeply ingrained
nature of female subjugation in a male dominated society. Polyxena’s
obliviousness to the reality of her status, only further demonstrates the
deceptive strength of patriarchy. Additionally, Achilles’ son leads the
sacrifice offering his dead father “the black blood of a virgin pure” to
appease his spirit from bringing on a disastrous storm. In order to appease and
honor the patriarchal figure, an animal is not sacrificed, but rather a virgin
woman. The death of women quite literally perpetuates patriarchy.
Once unrestrained, Polyxena rips open her
robe from shoulder to waist, exposing her breasts; the objectified symbol of
femininity. Polyxena goes on to piteously say, "Young prince, if 'tis my
breast thou'dst strike, lo! here it is, strike home! or if at my neck thy sword
thou'lt aim, behold! that neck is bared." Interestingly, instead of
striking her breasts, Achilles’ son uses his golden sword, a phallic symbol of
patriarchal hierarchy, to penetrate Polyxena’s throat to complete the virgin
sacrifice; a metaphorical devirgination. Polyxena’s neck and breath signify her
livelihood as well as her ability to speak. In order to emphasize the silencing
of women, the female form remains intact. Furthermore, Polyxena’s fatal wound foreshadows
her own mother’s feral fate of losing her ability to speak. But unlike her mother, Polyxena has chosen to
silence herself. In a patriarchy, women have no glory from words and deeds.
Even in phallic fatality, Talthybius
notes that Polyxena “took good heed to fall with maiden grace, hiding from gaze
of man what modest maiden must.” The alliteration draws attention to the rigid expectations
of women’s modesty in a patriarchal society; even in the final moments of death
it is unacceptable for a woman to accidentally show her vagina in the presence of
men. Ironically, Polyxena must hide from sight the very reason she was chosen
as the virgin sacrifice. As soon as Polyxena breathed her final breath, the
Argive warriors were tasked with covering her corpse. Those who were not
helpful were scolded, “Stand’st thou still, ignoble wretch, with never a robe
or ornament to bring for the maiden?” Even as a corpse, Polyxena’s body needed
to remain not only covered, but also decorated.
Through the use of metaphorical and
symbolic phallic imagery, modest irony, and attention grabbing alliteration,
Polyxena’s sacrificial virgin death is not simply an offering to Achilles, but
an offering to the patriarchy. The death, silencing, and objectification of
women strengthen the patriarchal institution and perpetuate its values.
